Memeorandum

July 05, 2012

Now Your Cat Wants You To Kill Yourself, Ladies

Women infected with a parasite spread by cat feces run a higher risk of attempting suicide, suggests a study of more than 45,000 women in Denmark published in a scientific journal this week.

"We can't say with certainty that T. gondii caused the women to try to kill themselves," said Teodor Postolache of the University of Maryland medical school, senior author of the study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

"But we did find a predictive association between the infection and suicide attempts later in life that warrants additional studies. We plan to continue our research into this possible connection."

The suspected perils of T. gondii featured in The Atlantic magazine in March this year when it ran a widely-read profile of Czech biologist Jaroslav Flegr, who suspects the parasite of literally changing people's minds.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin can be released from jail on $1 million bond while he awaits trial on a second-degree murder charge, a judge ruled Thursday.

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester granted bond to George Zimmerman for a second time. Lester had revoked Zimmerman’s $150,000 bond last month after prosecutors told the judge Zimmerman and his wife misled the court about how much money they had during an April bond hearing.

Anyway,two tidbits my source just gave me;Pawlenty just got the nod from Rom bot to be his VP-ZZZZZZ. Rom bot made the decision last night.Also,Zimmerman bond is denied.Technically this is not news as he told me this last week but he's a little confused as to why Judge is taking a week to make the announcement.Something's cooking behind the scenes,he's not sure what it is.

I have six cats and I'm crazy, but my hypothesis is that the causal relationship between these two facts is actually in the opposite direction from that which is mentioned in the cited study of bonkers Dane dames.

Cats are filthy creatures. My wife and I lost a daughter after 10 weeks to Toxo 17 years ago... we didn't even own a cat, but our neighbor did. It crapped in our garden and there is were we suspect my wife contracted this horrible disease. Olivia was born without a brain... eaten by the parasite.

So don't make light of this horrible disease because it's real, and I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I was reading that one symptoms of Toxoplasmosis are outlandish claims made in defense of cats. Things like she's the world's greatest mouser and she has saved my life and sanity. The bug actually makes the human host say these outlandish things as an evolved reproductive strategy. Very interesting to observe if one is not infected. I know I'm not, as I hate cats.